If you can shake off your New Years Eve hangover enough to get down to the Comet, Brooklyns Japanther will take care of the rest. Japanther Ian Vanek on the drums, Matt Reilly on the bass and a Casio really epitomize the art-punk scene, from their brash, flailing songs to their DIY ethos. Since forming in 2001, the duo has released a smattering of snarkily-named projects, like a DVD called Dont Trust Anyone Over Thirty and their most recent studio album, Tut Tut, Now Shake Ya Butt (previous recordings have been titled Skuffed Up My Huffy and Dump the Body in Rikki Lake) and have been featured in video installations at the Whitney in NYC. Still continuing to expand, this year Japanther ventured into hip-hop, recording a track called Radical Businessmen, a swirl of distorted bass and thrash-y drums with Spank Rock rapping the killer refrain, 1-2-3-4, fuck the cops/ Lets get one more, fuck the cops. With Champagne Champagne, They Live and Hair Envelope. E. THOMPSON
Fri., Jan. 1, 9 p.m., 2010